Semaphore-signal blade.



M. H. LOUGHRIDGE & R. P. TUTTLE.

SE MAPHOHE SIGNAL BLADE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19.1915.

Patented Oct. 9, 1917.

new ess? SEMAEHORE-SIGNALBLADE:

messes-l Specificationof Letters Patent. Patented'flcty 9 1917,

Application filed 1vatt ins; 1s5,i1e 15. seri iivasgng To all wlwm arm concern: I I Be it known thatlvve, MATTHEW H. LOUQI7I- moon, a resident of Teaneck, county of Ben gem State of N ew Jersey, and RALPHJHLP.

'lfUtrrLii, a resident ofMonntainvievv, county of Passaic, State of New Jersey, have ins vented new and useful Improvement in Semaphore-Signal Blades, of which the following 'isfa specification. 10

"This invention relates to semaphore signal blades made ifrom sheet steel and is a continuation in part of our co-pending ap-. plication, Serial No filed Septema v d 1 j ectsfmethods ofreinforcement against wind' up The shape ,ofjsignal blades of the character descr bed 111 a this I invention has vbeen established in the art Wlt-ll the use of Wooden blades. These consistof a ftapering member secured at the narrow end to the blade 20 grip or spectacle casting Which moves on a spindl ein the are of acircle to give different 'indications by the position of the blade. Wooden blades are also tapered edgeyvise in the opposite direction so that the broad outer end is thethinneri In this Way a rigid and icqmparatively light blade is obtained witlrthecenter of gravity concentrated nearer the blade grip than the outer those of Wooden blades certain elements em tel; into its construction}with relation to Wei ht and operating torque which it .is

the purpose of the present invention to pro- This invention; also has 7 for its obpressure and for resistingfltheefiects of jar due tothe sudden stopping of the blade in its vertical movement and to themethod of attaching the blade to the blade grip. Sheet metal blades are usually enameled with a porcelain enamel and certain novel features are introduced in the present invention to facilitate this process,

Our invention is disclosed inthe. accom- P y g d awings 3 which, F gu 1 1s a back view of the semaphore bladei'Fig. 2 is a cross section on the longitud nal axis of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 18 an enlarged cross section on line A l: of. Fig.1 showing :method of attache. ment to the spectacle casting (the latter be:

ing omitted in Fig. 1 for the sake of clearness), Fig; 4, is a cross section onpli'n'e 13-13 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is afront vieiv of the spectacle casting showingspindle 3.6. i

The blade pro per consists l of a light piece of sheet metal 11, the front of which is coated With a porcelain enamel-of any de-i sired color. In orde'i'fto' give this fpiece sufiicient rigidity to resist-lateral Wind pres-. sure another sheetmetal piece 12 is provid ed on'the back. Thesetivopie'ceshre so formed as'yto produce the elongatedtuhnlar; cross section shown in IiiggBfahd 4t. 'f i The blade is supported; at'j th enairro v end yi i de g p IV P Q aCIe'.caSil gQ1 Figs. 3. and 5. It Will be-observedthat.the reinforcing piece 12 does notiezitendi no e than halfway on the blade sd that it is pos sible by this construction to .obtaii ij ajcom paratively light. and laterally rigid blade and, at the same time, bring the j seiner-"0r gravity eloser'tojthe point of supportpthani is possible with ablad'e made entirelyftrom one piece, l y, f

It Wlll. be'noted that theedges 22ofythe blade are formed into ,a'tubular section. so which constitutes .stifiening ribsand" also forms a means of attachmentbetweenjilancll 2.

The outenend oi the blade: is, reinforcedby diagonal cross. braces l 3 lat, fshowvn inl cross section at 18, 2. Thesev are riveted. tothe blade andiarranged to overlapfthe, reinforcing piece, 12, thepoint 29 of, the lat ter falling, Within the vertical plane crate ends 30 of the cross, braces. This prevents the blade from buckling at .this point and, the cross braces form light reinforcing mem bersfor the broadonter endof the blade.

The reinforcing piecelQ is secured tothe blad'e by the rivets 23iand-2f Thismay be further secured by the rivets 25 and 2?, which; With v the spacers, 28, for1ns; this pore tiQI of the blade into-adiagonal truss thus increasing its rigidity to. resist Windpres sure. 79,

A semaphore blade of: the kinds described made-from a single sheet of-metal hasav tendency to: gyrate about the point'otat tachment to the spectacleca sti when suddenly br u ht to a Stop nai t-r it sa m meat T i nd n y ie nsi er b y avated by the fact that the blade is supported from 7 its narrow end. This condition tends to Weaken the blade, making it liable to fracture and, in the case of enameled blades,

cracks the which scales 5.1-.

This member also forms a continuous transverse brace the thrust 'from which is taken up by the rivets 2%,25 and 27. The diagonal cross braces in addition tdStifi'ehingthe outerend of the blade also support the edges atpoints sufl'iciently close to prevent gyration to any appreciable extent. v The blade is secured to the bladegrip 18 by the bolts 19-20, as shown in Fig.8. For this purpose a comparatively heavy pointed plate15 is inserted in the elongated tube and by means of the bolts firmly clamps the reinforcing plate 12 against the blade grip, thus distributing the strainof the load or .weightof the blade over 'a large area of the light metal. To still further in'crease the depth of the bolt holes or slots in the bladeand the bearing area of the bolts, the outer cleats '1617 are provided. These, with plate 15, are held in place by rivets 21, countersunk as shown, on the side'toward the blade grip to present a smooth surface. The inner end of plate 15 is tapered to'a point Where, by rivet 26, it carries part of the weight of the blade close to its center of gravity; thus relieving the strain .on the vlight reinforcing member 12.

The end of plate 15 is turned over at3 3 I to form'a closure'for the end of the blade;

the bolt headsthe'refore, fall within an in- I closed space and in order that they may be inserted in the slots32 in plate 15 and cleats 1617, gaps 31, opposite these slots, are provided inthe reinforcing piece 12. The slotted holes also facilitate attaching and detaching the'blade and by this construction the, method of attachment is entirely concealed so'that the front of the blade presents a uniform unbroken aspect to'view.

In the process of'manufacture it is necessary to raise the blade to" a high degree of heat when applying the enamel and the effects'of shrinkage when so heated and cooled i must be providedfor in the construction.

The cross braces 13'14 and the reinforcing piece 12 are made from the'same gage metal as the blade 11 so' that they will absorb and dissipate heat at the same rate and therefore-will not cause warping of the blade in the enameling process. Withthis end in view the piece 12, although firmly, is not rigidly securedto the blade on the edges, but has, when heated,a free limited'm'ovement in the tubular edges 22.

The clamping piece 15, is of, heavier gage than the blade but the rivet hole 26 is slotted ltd provide for unequal expansion the holes. for, rivets :Inayw belsiinilarly slotted V in piece '12.

By this construction it will be seen. that a ,superior enameled blade is obtained which has characteristics approaching blade.-

a wooden claim? 1. A tapering enameled semaphore signal blade supported at its narrow end, made from two sheets substantially of uniform gage' metal with their edgesjoined, the sup; ported end of said blade being of elongated tubular cross-section whereby the one sheet reinforces the other. 7 a

2. A'tapering sheet metal semaphore blade supported at its'narrow end, said bladeb'eing of elongatedtubular cross section for approximately half its length andfhaving diagonal cross braces for the remainder of its length. M

3. The combination of a sheet metal blade, one portion of which has an elongated tubular cross section and ano'ther portion has diagonal cross braces, the'ends of said cross braces extending over the sametransverse section of saidblade with ajportion of said tubular section. 4:. The combination'of an enameled sheet metalblade of elongated tubular cross sec tion atone end, a semaphore casting, means for attaching said blade to said semaphore casting through the back side of said elongatedvconstruction only. p V

5. The combination of an enameledsemaphore blade, a reinforcing. member, said member se'cured to the longitudinal axis of said blade and supporting its edges.

' 6. The combinationof an enameled sema phore' blade, a reinforcing meinber, said:

Having thus described our invention we member secured to the longitudinal axis of said blade and supporting rigidly connected thereto. 7. The combination of phor'e blade of elongated tubular cross 'section, a semaphore casting, "a clamping plate its edges but not inserted in said tubular section, said plate Copies of this'patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, I W -WashingtonJLGPf i w I a sheet metal sema- 

